


You'll Be My Resolution

by Inspire_me_to_breathe



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Resolutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 22:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1112469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inspire_me_to_breathe/pseuds/Inspire_me_to_breathe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's New Year's Eve and Arthur joins the gang at Dom's for food, alcohol, movies and resolutions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Be My Resolution

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [新年愿望](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1126209) by [RebeccaTang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaTang/pseuds/RebeccaTang)



> Title taken from Matt Corby's 'Resolution'.

It was the thirty-second New Year’s Eve that Arthur had lived through, and probably the first in a long time he could actually remember looking forward to. The children’s excitement helped. They had greeted him at the front yard (instantly abandoning the lopsided snowman) and ran up to grab at his hands. With the most enthusiasm Arthur had ever seen in any human being, James and Phillipa yelled breathlessly for him to come inside and look at their week-old Christmas presents, and in particular the ones he had sent them.

“Arthur!” Dom called out in delight as he swept his friend into a one-armed man hug, “Great to finally see you again.”

“Yeah, it’s been too long.” Arthur agreed, extracting himself from the rather tipsy Dom. He made his way into the kitchen where the rest of the guests were gathered. Ariadne looked like she’d already broken out the New Year’s champagne, and indeed had a half empty bottle in her hand. Yusuf kept glancing enviously at the alcohol as Ariadne wrapped an arm around Eames’ waist, leaning in against the forger.

“Oh, good, Arthur’s here. Now the party can finally begin.” Eames smirked.  Arthur was about to think up a scathing reply when he realised Eames wasn’t trying to be mean, and instead there was something soft about his expression, like he was actually pleased to see Arthur.

The evening passed enjoyably. They ate a lovely meal, retold stories of past exploits and finally collapsed in the lounge to watch a kid’s movie. The alcohol provided a pleasant buzz appreciated by all the adults, while the thrill of staying up until midnight produced a similar effect in the children.

Arthur found himself squashed up next to Eames on the couch, but, due to the aforementioned buzz, couldn’t bring himself to mind. In fact, Eames was warm and cuddly and Arthur never wanted to leave his side. In a strictly platonic way.

Halfway through the film, Eames left to take a phone call from a relative in Britain who was already into 2014. The couch felt rather cold and empty without him, and Arthur curled up, trying to make himself comfortable again. Only when Phillipa told him to be quiet so she could hear the movie did Arthur finally, albeit reluctantly, settle down. However, he still couldn’t find the perfect position and was relieved when Eames returned to squeeze in next to him again.

The movie was dull (something about talking animals) and Arthur couldn’t work out how to enjoy it since he had had little practice as a child. Instead, to occupy his mind, he tried to work out if any of the scars marring Eames’ skin were new. There was definitely one that he thought he’d never seen before; long and thin and pale. Arthur frowned, trying to determine its origin. Caused by a knife or dagger, he eventually decided.

Then, unexpectedly, Eames chuckled at the stupid movie, shifting himself so his hand rested on Arthur’s thigh. Arthur automatically tensed, feeling rather dizzy all of a sudden. Did Eames do that deliberately? To piss Arthur off? Unsettle him? Arthur scowled at the glowing screen, watching Eames acting all innocent in his periphery. He hated that man.

As the movie progressed, Arthur found himself relaxing, even coming to appreciate Eames’ hand. It was warm and solid and maybe, if Arthur was sneaky enough, he could slip his fingers into Eames’ – just to make sure the asshole didn’t attempt any other funny business.

“Okay, guys, ten minutes to go!” Dom announced as the credits rolled. He shook James awake after the poor kid had passed out a little while ago. “Let’s make our New Year resolutions.”

The children immediately perked up and proceeded to scream excitedly as they rushed about for an available lap to perch on.

“James, you’re a bit too heavy for this,” Arthur huffed; earning a reproachful look from Dom. James accidentally dug a bony elbow into his side, causing Arthur to flinch in pain and then reassure the affectionately dubbed ‘little bag of pointy bits’ that all was fine. Beside him, Eames just laughed at his plight.

“Who wants to go first?” Dom took control of the situation. “Phil?”

The little girl blinked shyly and then cleared her throat. “This year I promise to smile at everyone I meet and to help Daddy in the kitchen more.”

James snorted, “Just so you can lick out the cake bowl.” There was a round of laughter from the adults and Arthur, trying to bring the child up right, gently shushed him, even as he hid his own small smile.

“What about you then, James?” Eames raised an eyebrow, his face lit up in amusement, “Can you beat Phillipa’s fabulous resolution?”

“Yes!” James declared, digging something sharp into Arthur’s kidneys, “I promise to always remember to say please and thank you and... the other one.”

“Excuse me?” Dom supplied, and James nodded happily in confirmation. “Well, that _was_ splendid resolution. I think both of yours were equally great.”

James and Phillipa shot each other ecstatic looks, obviously pleased with this outcome.

“What about you, Daddy?” Phil asked.

“I, er, well,” Dom hesitated, before physically forcing himself to answer, “I’m gonna sort through Maman’s old stuff and clear out her closet.”

“You can’t get rid of all her things!” James wailed, suddenly gripping Arthur’s shirt very tightly in his little hand. “She wouldn’t want you to.”

“Yes, she would,” Dom attempted as a reassurance, “She hated keeping junk – said it cluttered up the house – so we’ll go through it all and decide what we want to keep and what we should donate to charity.”

Phillipa nodded sadly, seeing the logic. “She _would_ like it very much if it went towards helping people.”

“Of course she would, baby,” Dom hugged her, “But don’t worry, we’ll keep all her special things, and I won’t get rid of anything without consulting you guys first, okay?”

“Okay,” James sniffed.

“I just need to…” Dom began but couldn’t find the right words to express how badly he needed to let Mal go and to move on. Ariadne sensed his inner turmoil, like she always did, and leaped in to the rescue.

“My turn. This year I promise to eat less cake, be more organised and finish my degree with flying colours.” She stated cheerfully, pouring herself some more wine. “How about you, Eames?”

Eames startled, “Quit smoking.” He decided lamely.

“You haven’t smoked for three and a half months.” Arthur pointed out, “So it’s hardly a New Year’s resolution.”

“Oh, I guess you’re right.” Eames looked suddenly pleased at the thought, “I didn’t realise.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, “When was the last time you even bought a packet of cigarettes?”

Eames shrugged, “Can’t remember. You know me better then I know myself, Arthur.” He winked suggestively, and Arthur barely managed to refrain from blushing. “You’ll have to come back to me when I’ve thought of another. What about you, Yusuf?”

“I decided that this year I’m going to set up a charity.” Yusuf announced proudly, “To help people affected by dreamsharing.” The atmosphere quickly turned sombre, but people were smiling encouragingly, “It will have to be discreet at first, what with dreamshare not known to the public, but I think it’ll do some good. I’ve got enough money from the Fischer job, thanks to Saito and Dom, so it shouldn’t be a problem financially.” Yusuf picked at the fabric cover of a cushion nervously, “There must be treatments that can help those in comas or those with PTSD or anything else, you know?”

The ‘anything else’ hung heavy in the air.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Eames was the first to speak again, “Even just being able to talk about the things that happen in dreams could save someone.”

“Yeah,” Arthur agreed quietly, wondering what it was that Eames wanted to talk about.

“If you need anything; money, resources, connections, whatever; just let us know. We’ll help.” Dom offered with a warm, authentic smile which Yusuf hesitantly returned.

“So, Arthur.” Ariadne turned to the point man, “How are you gonna follow that winner of a resolution?”

“I don’t think I can,” Arthur shook his head, “I’ll just keep it simple. This year, I’m going to be more honest. Starting by telling the person I love that I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” He blushed at the admittance, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

“That’s funny,” Eames spoke slowly, “That was going to be mine,”

“Well, I said it first,”

“Can’t we share?”

Arthur glanced at him. Eames was biting his lip, looking positively terrified. Arthur was surprised to find it endearing.

“Okay.” He whispered.

Just then the clock struck midnight, and everyone cheered. James jumped off Arthur’s lap to hug his dad, and Eames used the sudden availability of Arthur’s limbs to grab his hand tightly, entwining their fingers.

“Arthur, I love you.” Eames proclaimed loudly.

Arthur beamed, “Eames, I may live to regret this, but I love you too.”

“Spend the rest of your life with me?”

Arthur didn’t reply, instead leaning forward to kiss Eames on the lips. He heard a muttered, “About time” from someone sounding suspiciously like Ariadne, but didn’t want to ruin the moment by flipping her off and instead invested all his concentration into the way Eames was pressed up against him. He felt a hand come to rest on his waist and Arthur leaned into the touch, reciprocating by cupping Eames’ jaw and deepening the kiss. Outside fireworks crackled and sparkled, and Arthur thought it was a fitting metaphor.

The toll ended and Eames reluctantly pulled away, his face flushed. Arthur laughed softly and pressed another quick kiss to the edge of his mouth, before sitting back to appreciate the celebrations.

“I think this is going to be a _very_ good year.” Eames said quietly, and Arthur had to agree.


End file.
